Episode 100: Dr Angus Hervey - Collapse, Renewal and the Rope of History

11/12/21 • 55 min

Today we celebrate the 100'th episode of The DNA Of Purpose Podcast! With that in mind, I wanted to interview someone who is not only a good friend but also a partner in purpose. As the co-founder of Future Crunch, and the scribe behind many of the words that are shared throughout the Future Crunch platform he is a messenger of hope, abundance and a future that we can be optimistic about, even as we weather the storms of life in 2021.His name is Dr Angus Hervey. Gus as he is affectionately known is a political economist and a journalist specialising in the impact of disruptive technologies on society.Prior to Future Crunch, He was the founding community manager of Random Hacks of Kindness, a global initiative from Google, IBM, Microsoft, NASA and the World Bank to create open-source technology solutions to social challenges. He was also the first editorial manager for Global Policy, one of the world's leading international policy journals. He holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, where he was the Ralph Miliband Scholar.Now for those of you who follow Future Crunch, you would have heard us talk about what we call Intelligent Optimism. This is the idea that if we seek out and share stories of human progress we inspire hope for a better future. Why do we care about it? Because we believe that to transform doom the antidote is hope, and to create hope we need to see it, read about it, and acknowledge that there are good things and good people in the world.At the same time, we also know that our climate future is genuinely scary and that in other parts of the world people are recovering from fires, floods, earthquakes and it is hard to imagine the anguish of millions of people in Afghanistan and not feel deeply affected.In response, Gus, Tane and the team realised that there had to be a new way of thinking about these challenges. One that in the words of Swedish physician Hans Rosling reminds us that “things can be bad, and getting better”.So in my discussion with Gus today we talk about just that. This is the story of Collapse, Renewal and the knowledge that what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.Welcome to the 100th episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Parag Khanna: MOVE - The Forces Uprooting Us and Shaping Humanity's Destiny

Today’s guest is Parag Khanna and he is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveller, and best-selling author. Well, actually he is the author of seven books. He is the Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm based out of Singapore.When it comes to full-stack humans, Parag is the real deal. He was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” Parag holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelors and Masters degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has travelled to nearly 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Impressive right....but one of the most impressive things from my perspective is Parag is kind, wise and so generous in translating a future the rest of us are yet to see. It was a joy to speak with him.Parag's newest book is MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us (2021) and that will be the focus of today's conversation. This is a compelling look at the powerful global forces that will cause billions of us to move geographically over the next decades, ushering in an era of radical change.In the 60,000 years since people began colonizing the continents, a recurring feature of human civilization has been mobility—the ever-constant search for resources and stability. Seismic global events—wars and genocides, revolutions and pandemics—have only accelerated the process. The map of humanity isn’t settled—not now, not ever.So without further delay let's get ready to MOVE. Welcome to the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Linda Cruse: Leading on the Frontline - Radical Acts Of Purpose From The World's Danger Zone

Today's guest is the incredible Linda Cruse. She is a woman who has made a clear and conscious decision to make her ‘earth walk’ count in every moment of every day. Linda is a frontline humanitarian, leadership expert and author of ‘Leading on the Frontline – Remarkable stories and essential leadership lessons from the world's danger zones. She is also the founder of an incredible initiative called Race For Good A Global Youth League that mobilises students to engage in high-impact learning and develop practical problem-solving skills as they tackle real-life critical issues.Linda has worked alongside some of the world’s most influential figures including HH The Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson and HRH The Prince of Wales, and with companies, foundations and universities including GSK, Virgin Unite, Cadbury, Rabobank, KPMG, Merrill Lynch, the World Bank.Linda’s journey into creating a purposeful life by design, began in 1996 when she was a stressed-out mum working in a job she hated. She was driving along a motorway in the middle of the night when she suffered temporary blindness. This terrifying episode led to a blinding insight: what is the point of living if life has no point? Determined to make a difference, Linda started a new life. This was the start of a scary, lonely, but always emotionally fulfilling job: teaching skills and bringing aid – and, above all, love – to war-torn refugees, the poverty-stricken and the victims of disaster.The essence of Linda's message is what she calls “A Hand Up not A Hand Out”. She would far rather empower people and communities to create sustainable change by leveraging partnerships with groups of highly successful individuals – typically senior executives in global corporations, successful entrepreneurs – taking them to some of the remotest parts of the world where communities struggle to either overcome natural, or man-made, disasters or to make the most of their existing resources. The idea is that so much more can be achieved with innovative minds solving problems, as opposed to only handing over the dollars.When I talk about being on the front line of purposeful living, Linda has faced death on more than one occasion but she has never given up on her mission. Her ultimate aim is to inspire others to do what they can. And on that note, I have no doubt that this episode will inspire you to not only reach for your pocket in supporting causes you are passionate about but to use your head and your heart to be an active participant in the change that you seek. Welcome to the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.